Device foe



(No Model.)

H. M. WIRZ. DEVICE FOR APPLYING BLAGKING 0N LADIES SHOES.

No. 359,527. Patented Mar..15. 1887.

n, Pzrzns Phbloljthcgnpher. Wahin ton. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT @EEICE.

HENRY M. WIRZ, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR APPLYING BLACKING ON LADIES SHOES.

.. in Jr in.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 359,527, dated March15, 1887.

Application filed January 24, 1887. Serial No. 225,347. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY M. WIRZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDevices for Applying Blacking on Ladies Shoes; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinventionsuoh as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to devices for applying blacking or ladiesshoe-dressing directly from the bottle. I accomplish the object byproviding a valved opening or discharge-orifice and a sponge or otherporous absorbent material placed and held over said valved opening, andmeans for opening, closing, or regulating said opening. Other fluidsubstances, such as mucilage, have had'their containing receptacle orbottle provided with a sponge or other porous and absorbent substanceover the mouth or opening without the interposition of a cap or valve,and with this sort of sluggish fluid or semi-fluid substance, such asmucilage, such construction may be used with good effect; but with alimpid and hi ghly-fiuid substancelike liquid blacking or ladiessl1oe-dressingthe discharge from a sponge thus placed would he too freeand the material would bewasted, while at the same time'thesuperabundance applied to the shoe would be destructive of the effectsought. I have therefore devised a new and improved top for receptaclesor bot tles containing such blacking or shoe-dressing,

which possess the capacity of being regulated as to the amount of liquidpassed out into the sponge or other applying means, and which can, whendesired, be entirely shut off, so that the sponge may be saturated tothe required degree and then the outlet of the bottle closed while theapplication is being made of the blacking or dressing to the shoe.

The manner in which I carry my invention into practice is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings and set out in the following detaileddescription, while the scope of the invention is pointed out in theclaims.

In the said drawings, Figure I is a central vertical section of a bottlehaving my invention applied upon it. Fig. II is a plan View of thevalve.

cap, b,which cap is providedwit-h a partiallyclosed top, f, having anorifice or opening, f of considerable diameter. Through this orifice fis pressed a piece of sponge or other suitable porous soft material,which will be held by the partially-closed top f. The sponge is markeda, and is inserted from the under side of the top before the cap isscrewed into place upon the bottle.

Under thesponge is placed avalve-plate,0,

whose periphery isthreaded to be engaged by the internal threads in thecap, so that it can be screwed up against the base of the sponge andhold it against dropping back through the opening f The valve-plate O isprovided with suitable openings, 9, through which the blacking or othermaterial passes. Its under side, which may be provided with a centralswell or protuberance, 0*, is adapted to fit snugly against'the top ofthe bottle or against a cork placed therein. 7 In the drawings I haveshown a cork, d,with a central channel, :0, for the passage of theliquid, and with an annular flange, 00, which fits over the rim or topof the bottle-neck and projects out and is screw-threaded on itscircumference to be engaged by the threads in cap I), which shoulder orprojection serves to prevent the'blacking or dressing from getting intothe threads between the bottle and cap.

In case the stopper is made of elastic material-such as cork or softrubberas in most cases it'wiil be, it will not of course be necessary tothread it, as the yielding character of the material will fill thethreads of the cap, and thus thoroughly pack and seal the joint betweenthe bottle and the cap, which, being made between glass and metal, isliable to b somewhat open.

As arranged in the drawings, the apertures g in valve-plate O are placedin a circular series, (see Fig. 11,) with sufficient area inclosed bythem to fit over and close the channel 00 in cork d, and the projection0*, which occupies this area, or a portion of it, on the under side or"the plate, will embed itself in the yielding IOO top of the cork whenthe cap is screwed down, and completely shut off the flow of liquid.

Vhen it is desired to use the device, the cap I) is unscrewed asufficient degree to raise plate 0 from the cork, as shown in Fig. I,and then the bottle is turned into a horizontal or inverted position,when the sponge a will become saturated with the fluid, when, ifdesired, the valve may be closed byscrcwing the cap down and theblaeking or dressing applied by rubbing the saturated sponge over theboot or shoe; or the valve-plate may be opened just sufficient to permitenough fluid to pass to keep the sponge sufficiently, and justsulliciently, saturated to do satisfactory work when rubbed over thesurface to which the material is to be applied.

This device is not only useful when the blaeking is to be applied, butit is also very useful as forming a means for closing such re ceptaelesequipped with the applyingsponge when they are to be shipped, as bysimply closing the valve the device is ready for shipping, and as soonas removed from the packing-caseit is ready for use by simply openingthe valve.

A cover or hood, as shown in section in Fig. I, may be placed over thesponge when the bottle is set away.

Although I have described my invention in connection with blaeking andladies shocdressing, it will be understood that I do not desire to beconfined to such use, as it is applicable inall instances where spongesare applied to the tops of bottles.

Having thus described my invent-ion, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination, with a bottle having a threaded neck, of a capthreaded to work upon said neck, a valve held and operated by the cap,and a sponge secured above said valve, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the bottle having an externally-threaded topand an internallythreaded cap for screwing over said top, of a valve, as(l, inserted in said cap, and a sponge held by said cap, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the stopper (1, having the flange or shoulder,as described, the bottle E, having the externally-threaded neck, and thecap I), screwing over said neck, of the perforated plate 0, screwed intothe cap, and the sponge, as a, held by said cap.

4. As a new article of manufacture, the hereiirdeseribed cover forbottles, consisting of the cap I), having the partially-closed top F,and a valve-plate, G, screwed into the said cap.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

HENRY M. 'WIRZ.

Witnesses:

BURTON O. Tiritrronn, FREDK. J. LAMBERT.

